Three taxi drivers were arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol at a vehicle check-point on Jakes Gerwel Drive near Viking Way yesterday morning.
In the first incident, officers arrested a 26-year-old driver from Philippi, who was transporting 27 passengers from Manenberg to Century City, at 7.05am.Â
His breath-alcohol sample was 0.45mg/L. The legal limit for drivers with public driving permits is 0.10mg/L. The driver was also served with 17 outstanding warrants.
Few minutes later, a 27-year-old driver from Khayelitsha was stopped, transporting 21 passengers on the same route. His breath-alcohol level was more than five times the legal limit.
At 7.40am, a 24-year-old taxi driver from Nyanga East, who was transporting 10 people to Goodwood, was stopped. His breath-alcohol sample was found to be nearly twice that of the legal limit.
The trio was transported to the Pinelands police station and their vehicles were impounded, two for operating without a valid permit and one for operating contrary to the conditions of his permit.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said: “These incidents are becoming so commonplace. It is extremely disappointing. One almost doesn’t know what to say any longer. There is no question that our enforcement agencies are doing the work; the arrest statistics vouch for that. It’s the conviction statistics that are lagging, because why else would people continue to act with reckless abandon?”